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Students Celebrate Syria Solidarity Week

Loyola’s chapter of Students Organize for Syria (SOS) kicked off their annual Syria Solidarity Week with a game night on March 12 at 7 p.m. in the Damen Den.

Approximately 50 students ate dinner, played Syrian card games and donated to the Syrian American Medical Society.

The goal of the week is to draw awareness to the anniversary of the Syrian revolution on March 15.

A different event is planned for each day this week. OnTuesday, March 13, a students can buy a churro during Churro Chat and talk about the issues in Syria.

On Wednesday, March 14, students will be able to package dental supplies for the less fortunate. The event will be held in Damen 114 at 6 p.m.

On Thursday, March 15, the week will end with a Day of Remembrance celebration.

SOC secretary, Senior Rahma Bayrakdar, explained that the goal of the event is to teach students about Syria.

”The situation in Syria has been going on for so many years and the country is still in a really bad state,” said Bayrakdar.

Senior Maureen Haggerty decided to attend the event when she heard funds were going to the Syrian Medical Society.

“I’ve seen a lot of coverage of the Syrian civil war and I never had an opportunity to do anything about it, so I felt like this was a way to I could contribute and hopefully help something,” said Haggerty.

Bayrakdar hopes that the student body will reflect more deeply on the state of Syria after the week is over.

“Syrians were living in their homes peacefully one day, and the next, they found themselves in the middle of a country that was full of violence and war, “ said Bayrakdar. “Although this has been going on for so long, the importance of the situation hasn’t decreased.”